Kevin Brown, Executive Chef, SELECT

With a focus on local fresh flavors, customized ingredients and a “SELECT” dining experience, Executive Chef Kevin Brown of SELECT Restaurant brings together 35 years of experience and passion for food so that patrons can “dine different.”

With the aim of creating a signature dessert for the Neighborhood to Nation Recipe Contest, Brown developed Strawberry Pandowdy, combining Pillsbury™ Southern Style Easy Split™ Frozen Dough Biscuits, which are broken into pieces, with a creamy, sweet strawberry mixture that is baked and served in a small skillet and adorned with Vanilla Bean ice cream.The dessert is sweet on the eyes and the palate. The customer reaction to Strawberry Pandowdy has been nothing less than wonderful.

Brown uses a variety of General Mills products in SELECT’s regular menu items and specials. The restaurant, which offers “the freshest and most consistent food experience in Spartanburg because we anticipate the needs of our customers,” is home to regulars and visitors alike. SELECT, which recently opened a second location in Greer, S.C., also donates its catering services to local women’s group homes and hosts fundraising events for several nonprofits.

Recognized for “casual fine dining” as well as a fun twist on Modern American cuisine, SELECT offers something for all taste buds. Popular menu items include prime rib and “Smoldering Intensity,” panko-encrusted stone-ground grit cakes entwined with asparagus and adorned with shrimp, Applewood Bacon Crème and a touch of Italian fennel sausage.

As a Regional Recipe Winner in the Neighborhood to Nation contest, Brown will receive $5,000 as well as $1,000 to share with a local nonprofit. He has chosen Greer Community Ministries, which offers programs and services to ensure no elderly, homebound or disadvantaged person in the Greater Greer area will go hungry.